A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications
Growing interest in microphone array technology has been observed in the automotive industry and in this work, specifically, for Active Noise Control (ANC) systems. However, the human presence always limits the usage of microphone arrays in driving conditions at the driver’s seat. This is often the...
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MDPI AG
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3202 |
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| author | Daniel Pinardi Andrea Toscani Marco Binelli Angelo Farina Jong-Suh Park |
| author_facet | Daniel Pinardi Andrea Toscani Marco Binelli Angelo Farina Jong-Suh Park |
| author_sort | Daniel Pinardi |
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| description | Growing interest in microphone array technology has been observed in the automotive industry and in this work, specifically, for Active Noise Control (ANC) systems. However, the human presence always limits the usage of microphone arrays in driving conditions at the driver’s seat. This is often the most important position of the car cabin; a wearable microphone array is particularly interesting. In this paper, a wearable helmet microphone array is presented featuring 32 microphones arranged over the surface of a helmet, which also integrates a specially designed Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter, delivering digital signals over the Automotive Audio Bus (A<sup>2</sup>B). Digital signals are collected using a control unit located in the passenger compartment. The control unit can either deliver digital signals to a personal computer or analog signals to an external acquisition system, by means of Digital-to-Analog (D/A) converters. A prototype was built and acoustically characterized to calculate the beamforming filter matrix required to convert the recordings (pressure signals) into Ambisonics signals (a spatial audio format). The proposed solution was compared to the reference spherical microphone array of the last decade, demonstrating better performance in sound source localization at low frequencies, where ANC systems are mostly effective. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-56122ea170cc4366a6e49a1fac0cfbc0 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-56122ea170cc4366a6e49a1fac0cfbc02025-08-20T02:11:04ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172025-03-01156320210.3390/app15063202A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive ApplicationsDaniel Pinardi0Andrea Toscani1Marco Binelli2Angelo Farina3Jong-Suh Park4Department of Engineering for Industrial Systems and Technologies, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Engineering and Architecture, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Engineering for Industrial Systems and Technologies, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, ItalyDepartment of Engineering for Industrial Systems and Technologies, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, ItalyAutomotive R&D Division, Hyundai Motor Company, Namyang-eup, Hwaseong-si 18280, Gyeongi-do, Republic of KoreaGrowing interest in microphone array technology has been observed in the automotive industry and in this work, specifically, for Active Noise Control (ANC) systems. However, the human presence always limits the usage of microphone arrays in driving conditions at the driver’s seat. This is often the most important position of the car cabin; a wearable microphone array is particularly interesting. In this paper, a wearable helmet microphone array is presented featuring 32 microphones arranged over the surface of a helmet, which also integrates a specially designed Analog-to-Digital (A/D) converter, delivering digital signals over the Automotive Audio Bus (A<sup>2</sup>B). Digital signals are collected using a control unit located in the passenger compartment. The control unit can either deliver digital signals to a personal computer or analog signals to an external acquisition system, by means of Digital-to-Analog (D/A) converters. A prototype was built and acoustically characterized to calculate the beamforming filter matrix required to convert the recordings (pressure signals) into Ambisonics signals (a spatial audio format). The proposed solution was compared to the reference spherical microphone array of the last decade, demonstrating better performance in sound source localization at low frequencies, where ANC systems are mostly effective.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3202active noise control (ANC)AmbisonicsAutomotive Audio Bus (A<sup>2</sup>B)beamformingimmersive audiomicrophone array |
| spellingShingle | Daniel Pinardi Andrea Toscani Marco Binelli Angelo Farina Jong-Suh Park A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications Applied Sciences active noise control (ANC) Ambisonics Automotive Audio Bus (A<sup>2</sup>B) beamforming immersive audio microphone array |
| title | A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications |
| title_full | A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications |
| title_fullStr | A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications |
| title_short | A Wearable Microphone Array Helmet for Automotive Applications |
| title_sort | wearable microphone array helmet for automotive applications |
| topic | active noise control (ANC) Ambisonics Automotive Audio Bus (A<sup>2</sup>B) beamforming immersive audio microphone array |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/6/3202 |
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